Kevlie Difference
by Skylark Evanson
Summary: A song inspired story that chronicles Kevlie. Inspired by the band Days Difference.
1. Are You Happy?

**A/N: I have been **_**dying**_** to get this up. A song-inspired series for Kevlie! And I love this band because I think they're perfect for this pairing. Especially this first song because this one sets the scene for this entire story. And this one will chronicle the progression of Kevlie instead of jumping in headfirst like my other story did.**

**Anyways, the band for this one is Days Difference and the album is their self-titled one. Love it. First song: "Are You Happy?"**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the inspiration, nor do I own any characters.**

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><p><em>Are You Happy?<em>

I'm on the phone with Gwen and we're arguing. That's all we've been able to do anymore since she moved. She lives like three hours away and I can drive there whenever I want, no problem. Well, there is a problem. And that's that I don't want to drive there to see her.

Okay, it's not that I don't want to drive there. It's that I don't want to see her. All she does anymore is complain and I'm sick of hearing it.

"So are you coming this weekend?" she asks, voice coming through the phone and ringing in my ear. It's the same question she's been asking for weeks. Every week since she moved, really.

I look to my right and see my car sitting there. Its already got a ton of miles on it and I don't want to put anymore on it. That, and when she sees me, she acts like I'm nothing important and that we see each other every day. We don't. And that's why I don't want to see her.

"I'll have to check. The radars around here are picking up some weird stuff," I lied. "Give me some time. It's only Wednesday." No, the radars weren't picking up anything. No, I didn't need time. Frankly, I just didn't want to go. I wanted to be with her, but the teenage hormones had faded and she was just a dusty memory and we were fading into the dark oblivion of nothingness. Yeah, our relationship was that irrelevant.

"Just call me if you're coming, okay?" The way she says it makes it sound like I'd be doing a favor, like I owe her something. It's pathetic, really. I'm just kind of tired of being a little thing for her to tote around. I miss her, yeah. I want to be with her, yeah. But lately, it all just feels like it means nothing.

"Alright," I answer darkly, trying to force a little bit of hope into my voice. I just don't want to see her. I love Gallic with her and everything, but now that I'm busy taking on Bellwood's entire alien population almost single-handed, we can't even talk. And she's in an even preppier school...

"I'll call again tomorrow," she tells me, the smile that's on her face even evident in her tone. Gwen is so readable. It's not even fun anymore to put forth the effort. "I love you, Kevin."

"Love you too," I answer before clicking the line dead. I drop the phone in my toolbox and run one hand through my raven-colored hair. Why do I feel so guilty? It's like I'm leading her on that I'll go to her place this weekend when I already know I won't. That, and I didn't mean what I said. I didn't mean it when I told her I loved her. That was a huge lie.

I'm almost waiting for the right moment to tell her that I can't do it anymore. I can blame it on the distance because I'm pretty sure that's exactly it too. I can't see her flaming red hair and I can't hold her in my arms and I can't take care of her... I'm the kind of guy who needs a girl that I can take care of. It's a paranoia, I guess. Maybe an OCD sort of thing. I'm not sure. But I hate lying to her because I do care, just not enough to keep trying anymore.

"You in here?" comes Julie's voice from the big door of the garage. She uses one hand to prop it up while she slides under, even though she knows very well that I could've just popped it open real quick for her.

The reason Julie can just let herself in and stuff is because she's the reason I'm not fighting our alien problem on my own. She armors up with Ship and we work together a lot on whatever I can't take on myself. Which happens to be a lot of things, but I like having her with me. There's no fun in quippy comebacks if no one can laugh at them with you later.

Julie gets back up from sneaking her way under the massive metal door and dusts off her white skirt, watching me intently. "Something wrong?"

I shake my head a little bit, looking to the ground before taking a breath and looking back at her quietly. "Just Gwen." I throw a thumb in the direction of my phone where it's sitting next to my Plumbers badge and the crystal of taedenite in my toolbox just to show her that I had recently been on the phone. The screen is still glowing blue. "The distance makes things hard..."

Her hands are in her jacket pockets. Julie just makes herself at home, leaning against my car. She smiles lightly and says, "Same here."

Ben moved too, although the distance is less. He's only a town away. It's like a forty minute drive or something. Not bad by my standards. But he moved for a different reason than his cousin. Gwen's dad had gotten a job promotion and was moved to a nicer office whereas Ben's dad had lost his job and the whole branch of his little Tennyson clan was forced into an apartment in a slum area. Sure, it wasn't good for him, but after everything going his way for almost his entire life, he deserved that little taste of reality.

So Julie and Ben have still retained a little bit of a relationship, but they were on the rocks to begin with. They always have had trust issues and such since Jennifer Nocturne reared her ugly head, but they manage to keep it together pretty well.

Well, better than me and Gwen anyways.

"It's not easy," said Julie, pushing a few strands of her ebony hair away from her pale face. "Everything seems harder." Her hands are once more shoved into her pockets. "The world has to spin without them by our sides, you know? It kind of hurts when I'm alone. I don't know how you feel about it, but it almost feels like I'm single again."

I shrug, reaching for a wrench just so I can have something in my hand. I have to reflect on my own feelings, but at this point, my emotions are just null and void. I stopped caring. But I didn't want to.

A silence ensues. The quiet is peaceful. I'm alone most of the time now, but that's always a forced silence. Julie lets me be quiet whenever I want. And I like that. So finally, I ask, "Are you happy?"

She knows what I'm talking about. And a weak smile touches her features. Julie shakes her head the same way I did earlier, gently and quietly.

Neither of us are happy without our counterpart nearby. But what else can we do but hold out for miracles to bring them back?

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><p><strong>AN: I love it. I really do. Kevlie is my little secret indulgence… Anyways, please review and thanks for reading!**

**~Sky**


	2. Tonight

**A/N: Wow, I've been working less today than I should've been. Well, here goes nothing. This one was to the song "Tonight". Lyrics can be interpreted in a hundred different ways, but I look at it this way. Kevin's POV, as always.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10.**

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><p><em><span>Tonight<span>_

I've decided I'm going to do it tonight. Right here, right now. I won't put up with this crap anymore. Gwen and I both know it's over. We can't pretend like we're trying anymore. I don't want to split from her, but God, what else can we do? Where do we go from here? We've hit rock bottom, and there's no way we can pull out of it. It's over; we're through. Now the overall verdict of it just has to be voiced. I'm going to be the one to say it.

I'm not afraid to break up with Gwen. I never was. I just didn't want to have to deal with all the crying afterwards. Really, it's annoying when chicks cry. Mascara running down their faces, eyes getting blotchy. If they want to cry, they can find somewhere else. No one's ever gonna be crying on my shoulders.

She's on the other end of the phone babbling about a pie place she found last week that she wants to show me if I drive to her place on Saturday. She says her parents are even willing to let me sleep on the couch if I don't want to drive home again Saturday night. In that household, that's a seriously generous offer. They usually don't want me anywhere near Gwen.

"Hey," I say, interrupting her mindless garble of words that have no meaning to me. I try to keep my voice serious and calm. Part of me is shattering on the inside. This was the girl who I thought I would take with me to forever... "Gwen." I keep my tone mellow but somewhat sad. She'll get the point, won't she? I hope she does. I don't want to have to explain it through to her. I already hate the fact that I'm breaking up with my first real girlfriend over the phone, but I don't want to have to deal with the tears and the fact of actually driving there only to tell her that I don't want to see her anymore. There'd be too many tears that way. And it'd be a waste of my time.

There's a long pause 'cause she went quiet after I had spoken the first word. Gwen was never a dumb girl. She was smarter than most people I knew. She had the mind of a scholar, the heart of a hero, and the power that would make anyone cringe. She wasn't dumb. Not Gwendolyn Catherine Tennyson. "It's over, isn't it?"

Yeah, she knows. She picks up on my tone right away, determining that I was dealing the final blow. I stay quiet and then she sighs through the phone. "It was over this whole time, wasn't it?"

I'm not exactly sure how to answer it, so I do the best I can. She can't ask easy questions of me. That would be too simple. She asks questions I don't want to answer because I know the truth. I know the true answer to that; doesn't mean I wanna say it though. I'm not a chick, and I'm not the smartest man alive, but I know I wouldn't want to hear someone tell me that they don't love me anymore. I'm not dumb enough to say it outright to Gwen. I still care about her, just on a lesser level. "I can't do this distance," I tell her softly, trying to be gentle. I don't want to break her heart or anything. I do care. Just not enough to try anymore. I won't lie to myself and keep pretending like I love her. "I wanna be with you, but I can't. Not anymore."

Seriously, I think my heart is gonna explode in my chest. It's the scariest thing ever. It feels like I just broke my own heart. And I really don't think that's a good thing. Not that I'm a doctor or anything. I didn't wanna have to do that, but I'm not gonna try anymore. I don't want to lie to her and pretend like I'm busy as an excuse not to see her. I won't lie and try to be someone I'm not. No way. Not me.

There's a little sigh on the other end of the line. "Just friends now?" she asks, surrendering to my verdict. I can tell there's only the tiniest trace of sadness in her voice. I can tell she was pretty much feeling the same way. I can tell she's lonely. I can tell she's vulnerable. I can tell she's afraid. I know this just because of the way her voice is. That was how close we were. Now, I broke it off, I'm ready to be free, and we're done.

"Yeah," I confirm, trying to sound positive about it. We know we won't talk. We know we won't see each other again. We know this is just a formality more than anything. This is just the way things go. You gotta go through the motions. "Friends."

There's a long pause when I don't say anything and she doesn't say anything. The long silence is when things really settle in for me. I just broke up with the first girl I had ever loved. And I was free; but part of me missed her beautifully cunning smile and those jade eyes. There were things I'd miss, but the whole world had suddenly opened up again above my head. Tonight, I'd become a free man.

"So I'll see you around?" she questions, still going through the motions. It's merely another formality just to ensure that we weren't going to feel the need to hate each other. In reality, would we really see each other? Three hours away. Did she totally miss that concept?

Again, I answer, "Yeah." I won't answer "No 'cause I'm never gonna see you again" obviously, but I feel the need to at least maintain our friendship. That was where our relationship had started from. Friendship. And I couldn't burn all my bridges.

She was the one who said, "Bye." I repeat it right back to her before clicking off my cell phone and tossing it into my toolbox next to my wrenches and screwdrivers. The whole jumble of tools jangles when my phone hits it, but I don't really care. My tools are tough, and my phone's titanium. Doesn't matter to me if anything breaks.

"You alright?" asks the voice of Julie as she appears from behind me. She was hanging around in the back room, knowing what I was doing and decided not to interfere. She had just been quiet the whole time, minding her own business. But now her eyes are watching me intently, somewhat concerned but otherwise calm. Her hands are neatly folded together behind her back as she stares at me with those innocent brown eyes.

I lie. "Yeah." Because I feel kind of alone in the world. Tonight, I'm alone again. I walk alone. The freedom feels good, but part of me misses knowing that I'm a part of something and that someone is relying on me to take care of them and protect them. I liked knowing I was a part of something. Now I'm not a part of anything.

She knows I'm lying; Julie can read it on my face, I'm sure of it. Still, she doesn't say anything. She pretends like she believes me. So it takes her a moment, but she produces my Plumber's badge out of her jacket pocket. "I was checking the scanners and something weird came up on the North side. I wanted to let you finish on the phone before telling you." She holds the badge out to me, head ducked like she did something wrong.

I take my badge back and shove it in my back pocket. "Take your moped and grab Ship. You got the coordinates?" For some reason, the prospect of a fight automatically takes my mind off of Gwen. I pick myself up off the ground and start to brush the dust and metal shavings off my shirt and jeans.

"I have them," she confirms with a little nod and a quick smile. Julie's quickly moving towards where she leaves her helmet and parks her moped. She pulls on the helmet in a heartbeat and snaps it at her chin before kicking her foot over the seat. "Meet you there in ten minutes."

I'm stepping into my car after putting away most of my tools and kicking the box of 'em off to the side. I don't bother to grab my cell phone. "Ten," I agree.

She zips off on her little scooter, headed home to grab her Galvanic Mechomorph so she can have her armor to fight alongside of me with.

I drop into the driver's seat of my ride and look at the empty passenger seat and the empty backseat. It really is lonely. I may be a free man, but I'm a lonely free man. I've only got Julie for a friend. I respect her and all, but we're scarcely friends. So I slam the door shut and the brunt of this hits me. I really am all alone. I cut off the last of my ties. I rev the engine and pull out of the garage. I can do things on my own too. I don't need the Tennysons to help me survive.

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><p><strong>AN: I still like Kevlie! Reviews are much appreciated!**

**~Sky**


	3. Radio Song

**A/N: Wanted to post another chapter. Here you go! This song is "Radio Song". It's one of my personal favorites. I quoted it in my story 'Singing to Your Twisted Melody'. So here comes more Kevlie!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! Song is by Days Difference.**

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><p><em><span>Radio Song<span>_

Now I just have to recover. That's what I want to do. Gwen was my first real love. My first serious love where I actually wanted to be with her all the time. Of course, that point of our relationship haze passed already. Now we are over, done, finished. Part of me is freed from the chains that once held me down; part of me is missing being a part of something.

Maybe it isn't just Gwen that I'm missing. Maybe it's the whole team thing. I know I miss Benji just 'cause he was always a good friend to me. I know I miss the whole team thing, but I got Julie. She makes up for that a little bit.

I miss Gwen. I'll admit it. But it wasn't working out. It wasn't going to work out. I never could've made it work out. We were doomed to be done from the start I guess. Pretty, smart, talented girl. And me. Big difference there. Big difference.

So I'm still hurting a little bit. I'm hiding out at the lake, staring out over the water and thinking that maybe I should call Gwen back or something, but what good would it do? We're done. It's over. Our relationship is finished. That's that. No matter what nagging part of me wants her back, the other part of me knows that it's not going to happen because I won't let it happen. We don't have the same interests, we can't stay together forever. We knew there was always going to be a barrier since we first met. I'm a criminal, she's Miss Perfect. That's the truth of it.

Maybe I shouldn't have burned my bridges. You never know when you're gonna have to cross 'em again, you know? It's something that you should assess before completely destroying, but I'm pretty sure I burned my bridge with Gwen. Just doing that might've lit my bridge with Ben too. So I'm not sure where I stand with him, but I hope he's not mad at me. I really need him. He's annoying, but he's like a brother to me. And I don't have any guy friends that aren't criminals.

Honestly, I'm still staying away from the crime. Trust me, the opportunity has arisen many times for me to dive back in, but Gwen drilled enough of it into my head so that I understand that going back would cost me too much. Going back wouldn't be worth it. That, and I had a badge to keep now.

There's a rustling in the bushes behind me, and I see Julie coming out of the leaf-covered trees. "Ben said I'd probably find you here if you weren't in the garage," she tells me, plucking a small twig out of her raven-colored hair. "Your mom said you didn't come home so she asked if I could look for you." She gives me a coy little smile. "Here I am. Found you."

It's almost funny how innocent she is. Gwen, Ben, and I have seen Hell and made it back alive whereas the worst she's seen so far is a bloody nose on a tennis court. Or at least as far as we know. Julie really doesn't know what she's getting herself into with teaming up with me.

And it's funny because it's not just the idea of fighting aliens that could easily beat her and me without even trying, it's the fact that she's also babysitting me the same way Ben and Gwen would. Gwen was always tight with my mom, and Ben would always be nice; now Julie's in on the whole buddy-buddy thing, and it's giving me the creeps. She's taking on my best friend role without even meaning to. She's the only one I have left, really. She's babysitting me now.

"We're not playing hide-and-seek," I point out, still watching her over my shoulder as she frees her skirt of a clinging twig and stumbles a bit to make her way towards me. Really, she has no idea what she's dealing with. I'm a mess to begin with, then there's the added idea of me being an emotional wreck over Gwen right now, plus her starting her fighting career or whatever you want to call it.

Smile growing a little bit wider, Julie sits herself in the grass beside me. Her lithe legs curl under her, and her hands clasp together and fold neatly on her lap. "A girl can hope," she mutters, staring up at the forlorn moon that hangs over head, just taunting us.

The moon seems to make the world glow. It makes the world around us look perfect; but it lies. The world isn't perfect. We've got our own emotional turmoil to deal with before we can even think of the world being perfect. Julie's got her separation issues with Ben, and I'm struggling with my inner demons on what I want to do about the situation with Gwen. The moon lies. The world isn't perfect.

If only I could get Gwen out of my head... I cock my head to one side and keep my eyes on Julie as she stares out at the lake's shifting waves that slap against the small, sandy beach. "You want to play hide-and-seek?" I ask. Seriously, I feel dumb for asking, but the way she said it made me wonder...

"Well, why not? You're hiding from your mom, I'm hiding from my problems, why don't we make a game out of it?"

For having her quirks, Julie's sure got good quirks considering Gwen's were control-freak and OCD chick.

"What problems?" I kind of dodge the whole "hide-and-seek" discussion just because I don't want to get into that. "You, the almighty Julie, have problems?" Of course, I'm being sarcastic, but I put on my best facade of shock for her, even going as far as putting my hand over my mouth in the way all preppy girls do it when they hear that their favorite celebrity is dating their least favorite celebrity. Yeah, I know things.

She gives a slight shrug and says, "Same as you." She pulls one hand away from the other and uses it to brush a few static-y strands of her black locks away from her face. "I don't want to waste my time with Ben when he's kind of a jerk sometimes, and he isn't always reliable. I'm fed up with waiting around for a hero. The real world is here, in Bellwood."

I pull one leg up closer to my chest, resting my arm on my knee. "And Ben's not here," I note, letting my gaze stray out to the trees across the lake. The water is darker on that side, more ominous. It crashes against the deep gray rocks with a bit more force than the way it rolls up onto the beach on our side.

"Exactly," she agrees, putting her hand back where it had originally been. "He's not here enough to be part of my life. And even when he was here, he didn't care all the time. He's always going to be too busy for me." Her voice is still strong and resolute. It almost sounds like she's telling me she's going to break up with him. It almost sounds like she wants me to talk her out of it or something.

Out of duty, I try to protect Ben. "But he treats you right," I remind her. My gaze only flickers to her. Now her eyes are on me, and I've got her full attention. "He's nice sometimes. That's all you girls need in a guy, right? Nice and smart and whatever you wanna call pretty."

Julie smiles. "Yeah, but we also want a guy who can pick us up from school, who can be there when you need a shoulder to cry on, who can tell you that you look like crap and be completely serious about it." She's being completely serious right now. Her features are slightly sad, but it looks like she knows what she's talking about. "Ben and I just don't have that going for us. I'm not even sure what happened between you and Gwen, but I don't like not having him here."

I don't want to touch the subject of Gwen with a ten-foot pole, but Julie brought it up and I'm not going to ignore it. "Too many differences, not enough in common. There wasn't enough to hold us together. But you and Ben are goin' good."

"Let's be serious, Kevin," she says, giving me that "don't be stupid" look, "Ben and I were over before we even started."

Funny how I had the same thoughts about Gwen. Never should've gone out in the first place. "But he's awesome," I try, giving Ben's case one last final effort. I already know Tennyson's gettin' canned either now or tomorrow, but I won't say anything about it. Julie seems sure of herself on this one. "And he's got superpowers." I'm not sure if that's the deathblow or the savior, but I throw it out there anyways. Just trying to help the best I can...

Julie's quiet. "I'm pretty sure that's what ruined us in the first place..." Her voice drifts off, hardly more than a whisper, scarcely louder than a whimper.

I know she's hurting pretty bad. I am too. Hurting people usually help each other out, right? "I'm always here for ya, Julie. Don't have anywhere else to go, really..."

Her smile is then weak and waning, but she remains strong on the outside. Julie bends her legs under her and plants her hands in the grass so that she can get the right leverage to stand up and get out of the long blades of emerald grass that I still sit in. "Then can I ask a favor?"

I arch one eyebrow in a questioning look up at her.

"Can you drive me home? My moped died about halfway here..."

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><p><strong>AN: Like it? Review!**

**~Sky**


	4. Sunrise

**A/N: Are you listening to the songs? Days Difference is such an epic band for this pairing… Also, I love the comment from Niobe's Pen. I wouldn't call it a resistance… Maybe oppression…? I don't know. Haha. But I'm glad you all like this!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the song, the band, or the characters. Cool by you?**

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><p><em><span>Sunrise<span>_

You're supposed to see things with an open mind, an open heart, all that crap I never believed in. And when you look back later, it makes sense. It's like reading a book and not getting the meaning the first time, but when you reread it five years later, the meaning is something sincere and you feel dumb for missing it in the first place. You're supposed to see the world through optimistic eyes. Seriously, I'm looking at the world wrong.

I can see a sunrise on a dark morning and still think that it's just one more day of existing. That's all it is.

But this morning, as Julie and I are skipping school to try and take out a few rogue Vulpimancers, the sunrise is looking like something different.

This new team thing has been working really, really well. Julie was filling the place that Ben and Gwen had left empty, the role of a friend. She was the one watching my back with Ship in hand. And I have to say, I'm grateful that we saved that damn little dog. He's pretty cool when he saves your life from a laser blast. And it's not like I don't have a record of getting shot at or anything.

So after wrangling one of the massive mutts up, I'm trying to get a second one while Julie tames the other two with Ship's flexible body thinned into the shape of a whip that she's wielding, slashing at them and cringing when they growl. No, Julie's not the greatest teammate, but she does good work when I need her to. She's my distraction, and I'm her firepower. That's how we work together. It seems strange that it works, but I won't complain. As long as I'm not getting my can kicked, I'm fine.

"Are you almost done with that one?" calls Julie as she lashes Ship's slender body out again to slap one of the beasts across the muzzle. Her gaze is flickering to me as I mold some iron around the paws of one of the Vulpimancers like a cowboy would tie up a calf. "I've got two more that are just begging to take you on."

I mold the last of the iron around it to keep it in place and hope that it'll hold. I mean, it should, but I'm not totally sure. How could I be? "I can take one more if you can snag the last one," I yell back only to see one of the deadly dogs already dashing towards me with claws outstretched and ready to sink into my armor and through it to my skin. With one quick thought, my right arm morphs into a giant sword and I slash it down to the hard cement parking lot that we're fighting on as the sun rises on the horizon, half of it already burning crimson in the sky as the other half is still buried deep, no light shining.

"Then I've got dibs on the last one," she said with a sort of smile that made me think that she was almost enjoying this. And in some respect, that little laugh reminded me of Gwen and every time I had told her that she needed to laugh in the face of danger. "Is that okay?"

Well, the asking part defeated the entire point of calling dibs, but I wasn't going to point that out to her. She wouldn't care. "Fine by me!" I hollered back while dodging a swift blow from the beast that I had just pushed to the ground. I let my hand turn to a mallet a moment before I smashed it back into the ground's hard cement. "They're not as tough as some of the others I've faced. Weaker Vulpimancers." As it lunged at me again, I aimed my mallet-shaped fist at it's skull and managed to make some contact, knocking it to one side so that I had a moment to take a few steps back.

"Do weaker Vulpimancers exist?" she asks loudly while stepping out of the way of the lunging beast that threatens to knock her down and rip her throat out. She's smacking it again with Ship who has now formed into a club-like weapon. "These are still giving us a run for our money."

I shrug while ducking as my large orange opponent soars overhead, giving me a moment to roll under it and avoid being slashed with sharp spears of claws. "Ben always did make this look easier."

There's a long silence; I look over just in time to see her beast bashing falter so that the massive monster is about ready to bowl her over. I barely see her regain some sense of reality in time to drop to the ground almost in a "The Matrix" style and lay there, still as stone, as the creature soars above her with rippling muscles in its powerful hind legs. I blame her little misstep on myself. I mentioned Ben. Completely my fault.

My own enemy flies at me, and I give it a good bash in the side of the head with my mallet hand and watch as it hits the ground with a loud _thud!_ It's obvious that it's out cold. I don't plan being the one to wake it up any time soon. My gaze falls to Julie as she's letting Ship morph himself into an energy sword that she's wielding pretty easily, fending off the Vulpimancer. She holds him off long enough for me to get a move on and go towards her. I watch her slide effortlessly right out of my way as I barrel into the side of the monster and knock it to the ground. She doesn't wait to move so I can get the upper hand. Neither of us disagree on who's the better fighter.

Unless I'm having an off day. Then Julie could kick my ass single-handed.

And just having that thought gives me another pang of regret. Man, it's lonely without Ben and it's really lonely without Gwen. I still miss them.

It's more numb now. Julie and I hang out a lot more. She's filling the role that Ben and Gwen left empty, I'm grateful for that. But it still doesn't stop me from missing them. And I've stopped missing being a part of something with Gwen. I wish she were here only as a friend now. Ben… he was my first _real_ best friend. I don't think it's possible to forget about him.

And while I'm distracted with thinking about Julie single-handedly taking me down, there's a drooling Vulpimancer hanging over me, a feral snarl ripping from its throat. And then it falls on top of me, all its weight dropping onto my body as Julie's standing over both of us with Ship wrapped around her neck like a scarf. "You got distracted too?" she asks with a soft, innocent smile.

I throw the limp form of it off of me and roll out from underneath the humongous paws and jagged ivory claws. "It's hard not to think of them when you're fightin'," I comment while boosting myself up with my elbows, not wanting to get off the ground quite yet. I'm not ready to stand up, get back on my feet. I still have to recover from the weight of the beast. "They were my partners for the longest time. Best friends I ever had." I have a sudden thought and then have to fix that statement. "Only friends I ever had."

She reaches a hand down to me and gives me a smile that is actually kind of a comfort to see. It makes me feel like there's actually hope. "You've got me," she points out as her chocolate-colored eyes glimmer with a little bit of confidence. "I may not be Ben or Gwen, but I'm here."

I take her hand and let her pull me up. Well, she doesn't even pull me up, but just having a grip on her balances me enough so I can stand up on my own two feet again. I don't have to rely on her exactly, but it's good to have her there. "Fair enough," I say, trying to smirk despite the fact that the sun is glaring right into my eyes, the vermilion orb rising into the purple sky of dawn. "And I'm glad you're here. Vulpimancers would've shredded me."

"Probably," she said with a quirky little grin before Ship wraps a little tighter around her neck and murrs, obviously in need of some love. Dogs are so needy… "But it doesn't matter. Ship and I are here."

Some part of this scene made me feel like I was like Velma from "Scooby-Doo" and Julie was Shaggy. I'm not kidding you. If you put a blue collar on Ship, I would've been convinced we would've been a duo ripped straight out of a cartoon and he was the crazy dog/pet thing. And part of it was a cliché, the sun rising just as we're finishing up our daily beat down of the Bellwood baddies. Some part of it is nice, knowing that part of us is finally rising back up again from falling in the darkness. Such a cliché.

Gwen taught me that word.

"So, Mr. Smoothy before I drop you off at school?" I ask after sending a message out to the Plumbers for them to pick up our catch of the day's aliens. I would probably receive word back before we even left the scene. I had stacked up the four Vulpimancers in a pile, all of them chained with my morphed metal around all four clawed paws.

She gives me a little shrug and gives Ship a little stroke on his head. "Fine by me." Julie's striding over to the car, walking towards the sun that has finally pulled its way above the dark horizon line. "As long as you're buying."

I should've figured. And I walked into the sunrise, knowing there would always be another one. This one was only my second.

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><p><strong>AN: I'm working the metaphorical angle with the titles now. Hoping that's alright with you guys. Really hoping you're getting it. And seriously, if you're not listening to the music, you're not understanding the progression that I'm getting at with this story. So listen to the songs please. And review!**

**~Sky**


	5. Magnetized

**A/N: This story is a hard one to work with. I've got 10 songs and I'm already halfway through the fic and haven't gotten to the point that I want to be at. It bothers me. Anyways, here's another chapter!**

**Disclaimer: The song is by Days Difference, and I do not own the characters.**

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><p><em><span>Magnetized<span>_

"We should get back on our feet again," says Julie with that determined tone that I hate and dread with a burning passion. Why? Because when she says something in that voice, she seriously means it. Julie can set her mind to something and never let go of that goal. It's something I respect about her, but also something that I'm not a big fan of.

As a usually laid back, calm, sometimes even lazy person, hearing that voice makes me cringe because that's when I know I'll actually have to do some work. And I'm fine with working, but Julie's the kind of person who makes you hop right to it. Again, I respect her determination and willpower, but I don't like it when it's directed at me.

I give her a sideways look before eyeing the road again as we're leaving Los Soledad for the night; my response is a one-word question. "Meaning?"

"Kevin, look at us." Her brown eyes are intent on me and I can feel it. "We're a couple of teenagers that fight aliens and have no social lives. We need to clean up our act and get back out in the real world."

Yes, because I'm such a fan of reality. You know, the one where I get called names and can't go anywhere without being reminded of Ben or Gwen. It's not as bad, but the wounds are still being stitched up; it's a long process. That, and the alien fighting is my gig. It's what I plan on doing for the rest of my life. It's where I want to be. I'm not sure which direction Julie plans on going in, but I'm going up and into space. I've got things I need to do with my life. No time for teenage stuff. I don't care if I'm missing the best years of my life. I don't need it.

"All you do anymore is hide in your car. It's not healthy." Her stare is scolding and somewhat sad, like she pities me or something. "I need to take you out of your little shell and show you what living is like."

Living has a tendency to get me killed. Last time I got to live the way she's phrasing it was in my weapons dealing phase. I am not going back to that. "Julie, let me go. I can take care of myself, trust me."

After a loud, huffy sigh, she continues, "But that doesn't mean I can't help you. You have no friend's except for me and the only four places you go are my house, your house, the garage, and Burger Shack. Not healthy, Kevin." Her orbs of brown are boring into my skin. "As your friend and as someone who cares about you, we need to start doing something." And then, she delivers the deathblow.

Her hand reaches for my shoulder in that caring sort of way, and I'm looking over into her muddy eyes at just the right moment. The deathblow.

It was almost the exact same scenario as when Gwen and I first found each other. Well, in a romantic sort of way. We'd met before, obviously, but her hand had touched my shoulder and her gentle words had made me change my mind. _"Kevin, people could get hurt." _And that was all it took.

Julie? No. Julie's off limits for me; it can't happen, isn't gonna happen. Ben's ex. I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I'm no moron. The Bro Code is something I follow like a religion, and no Bro can date another Bro's ex without the Bro's permission. Julie isn't for me anyways. My heart still belongs to Gwen, even if just a little bit.

"What?" Her voice snaps me out of my haunted memories, and one of her hands is waving in front of my face.

"What?" I ask right back, focusing on the road, grateful that there hadn't been a turn. If there had been, I would've had a serious problem because we would've been off the road in a ditch somewhere.

She looks relieved that I'm back in reality; I'm a bit upset that this is the real world again because that means Gwen isn't with me. "You zoned out and then groaned about something. What's wrong?"

How to tell her that I suddenly felt magnetized to her? How do I say that and not completely freak her out? I don't tell her, that's how. Because that's the problem. She's someone I can relate to, someone who I'm close to, someone who understands me. She's sweeter than Gwen. Julie still doesn't let me get away with things, and I like that about her. She's not as demanding, not as eager. She's got a one-track mind, but it's not the same as Gwen's. They're different. Julie's... Julie is tamer. I'm the metal; she's the magnet; there's the problem.

"Forgot to turn off the light in the interrogation room when I was cleaning everything up in there," I lie, hoping she'll buy it. She's a smart girl, something else I like about her. She's a good girl. She's nice. And I hate myself for even thinking like this.

But I guess it was coming. She's my best friend at this point; Ben's too far away, and I don't even talk with Gwen anymore. Julie and I were pushed together by Fate, and with Fate's hand as our guide, she probably decided to play a cruel joke on us, her cousin Destiny at her side and giggling along. Damn it.

Julie does buy it. "It'll be fine, won't it? I can fly back with Ship in the morning and turn it off, no worries." Her head tilts slightly and I get that sweet, innocent smile that just radiates kindness. She's too good for me.

Then again, I thought the same thing about Gwen. Look at how that turned out.

"Alright," I agree sullenly, mind still elsewhere. Because I'm not going to make the same mistake I did with Gwen. Not if I'm serious this time. Julie is different. She's lacking all the qualities that caused friction between Gwen and I. Maybe that can be our parachute. Maybe that can keep us from crashing.

Maybe I never thought of this because Julie was always on the sidelines. She was one of the secondary characters in the story of my life, there, but never in the foreground. Now that she had been brought to my attention, brought into the light, things were different. We weren't at a distance anymore. Closer. More. We could be something more.

"But I will get you out of the house, Kevin. You can't stay cooped up in your garage with this car anymore, okay?" She's watching the road again just as I am. "I'm really worried about you. Ben and Gwen leaving can't cripple your social life. You need to find other people."

And the silence falls like a fresh layer of untouched white snow. I know I've already found someone to replace Gwen. And it scares me.

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><p><strong>AN: I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, but this was where I want the fic to be headed and I've got five songs left. Again, if you're not listening to the music, you're not getting the full impact of how this is still, in some ways, a songfic. Anyways, reviews would be great. Thanks for reading!**

**~Sky**


	6. Falling Into You

**A/N: After several hours on Mario Kart, I'm here to write ^.^**

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own. Charlotte Fullerton and Matt Dwayne are the new head-writers! Yay! Thankiez to Spoon! ^.^ Love that girl ^.^**

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><p><em><span>Falling Into You<span>_

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"Julie..."

"Kevin..."

We're standing in the middle of Los Soledad with her little mo-ped, and she's already got Ship latched onto the thing so it's upgraded. My car is behind me, and Julie's giving me the usual stare down.

"I am not racing in a dinky little mo-ped."

"But Ship's on it!"

"That doesn't do much, Jules."

She's trying to get me to do something fun. Ben or Gwen must've mentioned somewhere along the line that I have a weakness for racing. Fast things, preferably cars.

Not stupid little excuses for scooters.

"Kevin, you'll hurt his feelings! Be nice and get on the stupid mo-ped!"

She's a sweet girl half the time... The rest of the time, she's a freak with spunk. She fits in just fine with the rest of my friends. The only difference: she's human.

Maybe that's a good thing. Less alien drama. Less to worry about. Less management. I can just worry about me. With Gwen, I was constantly wondering if she was going to lose it to her Anodite form, but there's nothing to worry about with Julie.

And so I'm kind of letting myself fall into her.

She's willing to take care of me (on a friend level) and I'm kind of hitting rockbottom with recovering from the magnetism that is Julie Yamamoto. Damn.

"Um, no."

"Kevin Ethan Levin, get on the damn mo-ped!"

Fire is blazing in her brown eyes and she had stomped her foot. You don't fuck with a chick that stomps. So I get on the mo-ped.

When I look over my shoulder, she's wearing a satisfied smirk.

"Ship Ship!"

And I'm not even aware of what's going on, but the little scooter beneath me is zipping off at some serious speeds. Like seventy miles an hour? Somethin' like that, but it's wicked fast.

I grip the handlebars and regain control. This is my game. Racing. It's what I do.

I whip it around tight corners and zigzag through the whole base like it's my own personal racetrack. Because it kind of sort of is. Alleys and side roads kick up gravel behind me. The whole place is my speedway. It's not a scooter, it's a motorcycle. I lean a little lower so the aerodynamics are better.

God, I missed the freedom.

It's the rush of adrenaline, the racing of your blood, the power at your fingertips, the way the wind burns your eyes and face; that is freedom. Freedom from pain, from the world, from hurt, from the ache, from longing, from loneliness, freedom from living.

"Told you you'd love it."

I'm pulling up back alongside my ride and kicking down the stand. Ship melts off the mo-ped and immediately curls up in Julie's arms, the perfect pet.

"And I was right."

"Fine. You were right."

I'd never admit that to anyone else. Gwen was never right. Ben, especially, was never right.

But Julie was right.

Her arms fold neatly across her chest, and she holds her head triumphantly, the battle won. Her brown eyes are glimmering as she watches me. She's smirking. She wins.

"Good."

I'm not sure if I heard her right. She just accepts that she won, not throwing any of it back in my face. It's... not... normal... Gwen always made a big deal out of winning even when I never said she won. Always. And Julie's... just... accepting...

I don't get it. I honestly don't get it.

"What?"

"I helped. You're out of your rut. You can go be normal again."

Yeah, that's never going to happen. But she continues talking.

"Which means you can go find yourself another pretty girl and go take her places instead of me always having to take you places, you big lug head."

She's never been good with insults, lemme tell ya...

But I have another thought. I don't need another pretty girl.

Bro Code.

Julie.

Bro Code.

Julie.

Internal battle of morals and emotions. And demons, for some reason. Those little buggers are always hanging around in my head...

Bro Code.

Julie.

"Are you going to drive me home some time this week?"

I wake up from my little daydream to see that Julie's already packed her scooter-wannabe up in my trunk, and she's perched in the passenger seat with Ship around her neck like a scarf.

"Come on, Kevin."

Bro Code.

Julie.

Demons.

Life sucks sometimes.

"Coming."

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><p><strong>AN: I'm working on finding a nice writing style. I liked this, although don't expect to see it again. I just wanted to write it this way for personal enjoyment. Review?**

**~Sky**


	7. Imperfections

**A/N: So I have the next chapter organized and ready to write already. This one is just my little splurge of Kevlie for the day. The fanbase has grown for these two ^.^**

**Disclaimer: Song is by Days Difference, characters owned by MOA.**

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><p><em>Imperfections<em>

Ben is an understanding sort of guy. For the most part. I still consider him to be my best friend, especially since I'd never had a real best friend before him. He's nice, irrational, honest, and will only lie if you threatened him and he knows you mean it. That's just Ben.

So calling him seems like a logical thing to do. Tell him about my little dilemma, how I'm chasing another skirt, how I feel so guilty about it. He's Ben. He'll be honest with me. I know he will. It's Ben.

There's a pause as he drinks some smoothie (there's a smoothie joint where he lives now too) and he says after another moment, "I think you should go for it."

Yeah, so much for listening to Ben...

I blink and stare into the darkness of my room as wind filters in through the window, only a little flicker of moonlight getting in. "You _what_?"

He's Ben. He dated Julie. I thought he still loved Julie. Last I heard from him, he still completely wanted her. They hadn't worked out, but I thought he still wanted to be with her...

I'd told him like this:

"Don't take this the wrong way, dude. I know the Bro Code, but I feel guilty 'bout not tellin' you sooner, so I'm lettin' you know now just so we're clear. I think I'm in love with your ex-girlfriend."

And then, before he could say anything, I'd continued really fast like this:

"But I'm not making a move on 'er or anything! That's completely wrong, and I know it. I'm stupid, but I'm not _that _stupid, trust me."

At that, he'd laughed and said, "Trusting you on your stupidity level-"

I had coughed through the line and growled a little bit, making him shut up. Then he got quiet and said _that_.

Seriously, what's wrong with that kid?

"Kevin, I'm serious." He sounds genuine enough. For being Ben, I mean. "I know you miss Gwen-" I do still miss Gwen. So much. So much that it hurts. "-but something like this could be good for you. Julie... I know both of them really well, okay? Julie is like the low-key version of Gwen. She just expects a little more effort and a lot of talk-time, if you know what I mean. But here's the thing: since you guys are working together as the new team, you see each other all the time. That was what you and Gwen had going so good for you. Every day, all the time, twenty-four-seven, constant talking, always seeing each other." He paused. "Kevin, are you following all this?"

Sadly, yes. "Uh-huh."

"Now, you see Julie all the time, something I never got. She requires a lot of time and effort because she just does. The team offers that opportunity." Ben drank more of his smoothie, but I said nothing in the silence because I could feel he was going to say more as soon as he was done sipping on his nasty slush. He continued after a minute or so. "What went wrong with you and Gwen most of the time was your fighting because of the clashing personality issue. Julie is... Julie's like me. Calmer, gentle, adorable-" Just the way he was talking, I could tell he was still completely in love with her, poor sucker... "-nice, and doesn't like to argue."

"What does that have to-"

"Hush, Kevin. Stop thinking, just listen. Your brain might explode."

I shut up only because I can't pound his face in over the phone.

"You and Gwen fought too much." He's right. Sorta. "If you would've broken up eventually, it would've been over a fight. Cool thing with Julie is that she doesn't argue. She'll point out all your flaws and imperfections, but she doesn't argue with you unless you've pissed her off, which you probably will at some point, but let's face it, you have that effect on everyone."

I scowl and watch the shifting shadows around me. The moonlight's only bright enough so I can see a few feet in front of my face. "Tennyson, I swear, one of these days..."

"Kevin, you stand a better chance with Julie than I ever did."

I pause. I listen. He doesn't drink his smoothie. He doesn't say anything. He just breathes.

I know what he's feeling. Because I miss Gwen the same way he misses Julie.

Except my best friend isn't stealing Gwen from me.

"Ben?"

"Yeah?"

"...I'm sorry."

I think I hear him smirk and then release a heavy sigh. "Don't be. It never would've lasted."

And I know he's telling the truth. Ben doesn't lie very often unless he knows he'll get in trouble for telling the truth. There's no trouble in the truth here, so why bother with a lie? He's Ben. He's the nicest guy I know. And he knows Julie better than anyone. You know, not counting Ship. She probably tells that dog all her secrets...

"So how are you going to ask her out?"

I laugh. And then hang up on him. Like Hell I'm asking her out.

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><p><strong>AN: Keeping Kevin in character is a lot harder now. I'm so used to Gwevin with this sort of stuff… Anyways, reviews are love!**

**~Sky**


	8. Blindfold

**A/N: I'm finally gonna try and wrap this fic up. I've got two more chapters after this one, and I'm actually proud of how this chapter turned out, probably the best one so far in this series!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Ben 10 at all.**

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><p><em><span>Blindfold<span>_

I'm lucky this is a team situation now because when all senses are offline, it's good to know there's someone else out there for you. Even if you have no idea where they are or if they're coming or if they even know you're missing, but someone's there and they care.

I'm gagged and bound, cloth blocking my vision. My glove-covered hands are tied to the arms of the chair. My legs are strapped to their parallel chair legs. No skin on the metal. There's nothing to absorb.

But Julie's out there somewhere. She'll know I'm gone. They threw me into the hood of my car to knock me unconscious, so if she goes to the garage, she'll know something's wrong. She'll find me. I think. Maybe.

Now isn't a good time for second guessing her. She's a strong girl, maybe not physically but she's got the willpower and mental strength of a ten thousand men. She'll break bones to get what she wants, and that I don't ever doubt. Julie's a little monstrosity wrapped up in pink and delivered with a cute face, but she'd stab someone to protect Ship- I've seen that first hand, and even though it was only in the hand and with a plastic knife, it was still scary as hell.

And the ground starts shaking. The air smells like sea, and I'm wondering if maybe they've pushed me off into the ocean to drown, but then it just keeps shaking, less like sliding, more like pounding. Thunderous pounding. In a pattern. Footsteps.

Julie.

And then the clashing of metal rings through the air and I can feel someone trying to grasp at my chair, but the second I start thrashing myself, they bash me upside the head and everything's just ringing and the floor's still pounding and the blood in my ears is absolutely pulsing. But through all that, there's still the sound of metal and, more distinctively, swords in sheathes. Forever Knights. Bastards.

My chair does get pulled away, and while a chorus of yelling strikes up, mostly battle cries, some screeches of terror, I'm being hauled away somewhere and I wish I could just absorb something, I feel so useless, like a limp rag doll. Except most dolls don't have to worry about being dragged to their doom.

Then I stop and the footsteps have stopped and there's just this freaking loud roar, not animalistic, just damn angry. I knew she'd find me. That girl's a firecracker.

The metal has stopped with the rushing sounds and is now more towards clashing swords. That is, until the metallic _swish swish_ noises are replaced by grunts and sharp yelps and then the _thud!_ of bodies hitting the wall, the armor crashing against stone.

This happens in about three waves as far as I can tell and I know she's a just kicking some butt and doesn't even have a problem with giving them a taste of her sweet vengeance. Julie's merciless when she's pissed.

And my chair starts moving again and now, with the sounds of swords, armor, and metal dying out, I can hear the ocean plain as day. And I know I'm probably going to drown in a few minutes, I can't swim while tied to a metal chair. Sinking would be imminent.

"Kevin!"

And just as I feel like I'm about to tip over, the blast of her missile launcher goes off. And I hope to God she's got good aim with that thing because I hear the rocket coming closer and closer with the fizzle of the fire and I hold perfectly still and I think I might even be praying as it flashes right past my head, causing my hair to follow the wind it creates, and hits whoever was trying to haul me to the sea and knocks them in the water instead because the scream they emit is followed by a splash about two seconds later. Which would be kind of funny if I didn't think I was about to die a moment ago.

And then there's just the sound of her and the churning ocean. Her panting breath, her light footsteps across the ground. Ship must've melted away. And then she's right in front of me. "Kevin," she says slowly, my name coming out like a sigh. A happy sigh. "I thought I was going to lose you there."

"Funny," I say, my heart still racing and my legs feeling like jelly, "I thought you were going to kill me."

She scoffs, but it almost comes out like a sort of choked laugh. Julie says nothing more, but unties one of my hands before methodically moving to the other. And then she peels away my blindfold.

Even though the sunlight should be blinding, I just blink enough because her face is mere inches away from mine and I can't help but stare. I know from the way she's bent over that if I looked down a bit, I'd be able to see down her shirt, but I find myself more interested in the curvature of her face and how her hair falls so nicely and how her eyes are so damn _brown_-

"Are we going to keep pretending this isn't happening?" she asks lowly, her gaze totally meeting mine and our eyes are absolutely locked. We both know what she's talking about, and I'm surprised she noticed it because I thought she was running around being a proud single lady all these months but now I can see it in her eyes, that she knows, that she feels it too, that she wants to keep me safe just as badly as I want to do the same for her, and in our line of work, that usually just boils down to love and no one can ever explain why it always turns into that, but it does.

I keep my eyes fixed on hers and breathe in slowly. As I breathe out, I say, "Yeah."

And some part of my brain says I'm doing this for them. For Ben. For Gwen.

And another part says I'm doing it to avoid another heartbreak.

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><p><strong>AN: Please leave a review, thanks for reading.**

**~Sky**


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